Editor's note: CNN's Soledad O'Brien chronicles the dramatic fight over the construction of a mosque in the heart of the Bible Belt in "Unwelcome: The Muslims Next Door," Video airing at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 2.

When Sen. Richard Durbin called a hearing on anti-Muslim bigotry, his office insisted it was not a response to a controversial House hearing that recently examined the threat of home-grown terrorism.

"Terrorism is not the subject of today's hearing," Durbin, D-Illinois, said in his opening remarks.

But two Senate Republicans said they couldn't discuss the Muslim-American community without looking at its potential for radicalization. Earlier this month, Rep. Peter King, R-New York, prompted a flurry of controversy and media attention by tackling "the radicalization of American Muslims" in a separate hearing.

soundoff(81 Responses)

Freedom

@ reality
Do you think people need religion to kill each other – no way – religion is the excuse – people kill people.

Big bang theory and all that crap they pump out as science, is nothing but theory – fairy tale – it’s like this! – slow poof(science) or fast poof (religion) –given that time is nothing more than a concept – which belief is right or maybe both sides are wrong. Ever consider this?

What you or anyone else believes is not my business – believe or not, I don’t care – just give others the freedom to believe what they want. Because neither side can prove or disprove – only an insecure fool can argue otherwise. ALL camps need humbling.

What’s the point of arguing about issues – that no clear answers exist – while at the same time no matter what we believe our world falls apart.

Science cannot prove half the crap they pump out nowadays. Science and religion are not much different in this respect and both have led to the death of countless numbers of people.

When science encounters anomalies that are not understood or easily explained, what do they do? Ignore it like it does not exist. Kind of reminds me of the religious zealots that refuse to believe in obvious none sense in their books.

When science, religion, and politics – whatever can end human suffering and set people free, then they will get my vote – sadly given past performance – I won’t hold my breath.

80 – 90 percent of people globally believe in some form of spirituality as they have for millennia – Like it or not.
Does it seem logical or even realistic to think that anything including science is going to change this? No way

Remember history is written by the winners, not the losers.

Don’t believe everything you read on or off the internet.

Everything has its place and use, even the useful idiots both believer or not serves a purpose.

Freedom and ignorance know no borders and some pay a lot of good money to remain ignorant.

God bless, Reality on your digital scriptures – I like how you use “probably” yet speak with certainty – Man of science? Just as bad as those beliefs you dismiss.

April 7, 2011 at 12:10 pm |

Tierney

"Unwelcome: The Muslims Next Door," Video airing at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 2. I watched this report and found myself sick to my stomach. America, a country who's founding fathers had to fight for their right to have religious freedom. How soon we forget the struggles of our grandfathers. I couldn't believe the ignorance displayed...even in a court of law. One more thing in our history to embarrass our children's children.

April 4, 2011 at 12:47 am |

Muneef

Al-Istighfaar (Seeking Forgiveness)
'O my 'ilãh You are my Lord, there is no 'ilãh but You. You created me, and I am your bondservant, and I will stick to my covenant and promise [of faith and sincere obedience] to You, as to my ability. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done, I acknowledge, to You, your bounties upon me, and I acknowledge, to You, my sin. Thus forgive me, for none forgives sins except You.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Seekers-Of-Islam/message/88

Signs of end of time on earth...
By John Miller
According to the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, may Peace Be Upon Him, there are minor and major signs in the comings of judgment day. The minor signs are as follows:

The disappearance of knowledge and the appearance of ignorance (Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Majah, & Ahmad)
Books/writing will be widespread and (religious) knowledge will be low (Ahmad)
Adultery and fornication will be prevalent (The Prophet, peace be upon him, said that this has never happened without new diseases befalling the people, which their ancestors had not known.) (Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Majah, & Al-Haythami)
When fornication becomes widespread among your leaders (The Prophet, peace be upon him, said that this will happen when the people stop forbidding evil) (Ibn Majah)
Adultery and fornication will be performed in the open
The consumption of intoxicants will be widespread (Bukhari & Muslim)
Women will outnumber men......eventually 50:1 (Bukhari, Muslim, & Ahmad)
Killing, killing, killing (Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Majah, & Ahmad)
The nations of the earth will gather against the Muslims like hungry people going to sit down to a table full of food. This will occur when the Muslims are large in number, but "like the foam of the sea".
People will beat others with whips like the tails of oxen (Muslim) ?The Slave Trade
The children will be filled with rage (at-Tabarani, al-Hakim)
Children will be foul (at-Tabarani, al-Hakim)
Women will conspire (at-Tabarani, al-Hakim)
Rain will be acidic or burning (at-Tabarani, al-Hakim)
Children of fornication will become widespread or prevalent (at-Tabarani, al-Hakim)
When a trust becomes a means of making a profit (at-Tirmidhi, Al-Haythami)
Gains will be shared out only among the rich, with no benefit to the poor (at-Tirmidhi)
Paying zakat becomes a burden and miserliness becomes widespread; charity is given reluctantly (at-Tirmidhi & Al-Haythami)
Miserliness will be thrown into the hearts of people (Bukhari)
Episodes of sudden death will become widespread (Ahmad)
There will be people who will be brethren in public but enemies in secret (He was asked how that would come about and replied, "Because they will have ulterior motives in their mutual dealings and at the same time will fear one another.") (at-Tirmidhi)
When a man obeys his wife and disobeys his mother; and treats his friend kindly while shunning his father (at-Tirmidhi)
When voices are raised in the mosques (at-Tirmidhi)
People will walk in the marketplace with their thighs exposed
Great distances will be traversed in short spans of time
The people of Iraq will recieve no food and no money due to oppression by the Romans (Europeans) (Muslim)
People will hop between the clouds and the earth
A tribulation will enter everyone�s home (Ahmad)
The leader of a people will be the worst of them (at-Tirmidhi)
Leaders of people will be oppressors (Al-Haythami)
People will treat a man with respect out of fear for some evil he might do (at-Tirmidhi)
Men will begin to wear silk (at-Tirmidhi)
Female singers and musical instruments will become popular (at-Tirmidhi)
When singers become common (Al-Haythami)
People will dance late into the night
When the last ones of the Ummah begin to curse the first ones (at-Tirmidhi)
People will claim to follow the Qur'an but will reject hadith & sunnah (Abu Dawood)
People will believe in the stars (Al-Haythami)
People will reject al-Qadr (the Divine Decree of Destiny) (Al-Haythami)
Time will pass rapidly (Bukhari, Muslim, & Ahmad)
Good deeds will decrease (Bukhari)
Smog will appear over cities because of the evil that they are doing
People will be carrying on with their trade, but their will only be a few trustworthy persons
Wealth will increase so much so that if a man were given 10,000, he would not be content with it (Ahmad & Bukhari)
A man will pass by a grave and wish that he was in their place (Bukhari)
Earthquakes will increase (Bukhari & Muslim)
There will be attempts to make the deserts green
The appearance of false messengers (30 dajjals) (Bukhari)
Women will be naked in spite of being dressed, these women will be led astray & will lead others astray (Muslim)
The conquest of Constantinople by the Muslims (Ahmad)
The conquest of India by the Muslims, just prior to the return of Jesus, son of Mary (peace be upon both of them)(Ahmad, an-Nisa'i, at-Tabarani, al-Hakim)
When people begin to compete with others in the construction of taller buildings (Bukhari)
There will be a special greeting for the people of distinction (Ahmad)
The Euphrates will disclose a treasure (The Prophet, peace be upon him, said that whoever is present should not take anything from it) (Bukhari & Muslim)
Two large groups, adhering to the same religious teaching will fight each other with large numbers of casualties (Bukhari & Muslim)
Wild animals will be able to talk to humans (Ahmad)
A man will leave his home and his thigh or hip will tell him what is happening back at his home (Ahmad)
Years of deceit in which the truthful person will not be believed and the liar will be believed (Ahmad)
Bearing false witness will become widespread (Al-Haythami & Ahmad)
When men lie with men and women lie with women (Al-Haythami)
Trade will become so widespread that a woman will be forced to help her husband in business (Ahmad)
A woman will enter the workforce out of love for this world (Ahmad)
Arrogance will increase in the earth (at-Tabarani, al-Hakim)
Family ties will be cut (Ahmad)
There will be many women of child-bearing age who will no longer give birth.
There will be an abundance of food, much of which has no blessing in it.
People will refuse when offerred food.
Men will begin to look like women and women will begin to look like men

The Major Signs:

Although they appear here in no particular order, it is important to point out that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that these last, major signs will follow each other like pearls falling off of a necklace...

Masih ad-Dajjal (The AntiChrist)
The Mahdi
The appearance of Masih al-�Isa (Jesus Christ), the son of Mary (peace be upon him)
Ya�juj and Ma�juj (Gog and Magog)
The destruction of the Ka�bah and the recovery of its treasure
Emergence of the Beast
The smoke
Three major landslides (one in the East, one in the West, and one on the Arabian peninsula)
The wind will take the souls of the believers
The rising of the sun from the west
The fire will drive the people to their final gathering place
Three blasts of the trumpet (fear & terror, death, resurrection)

March 31, 2011 at 3:24 pm | Report abuse | Reply

April 1, 2011 at 2:54 pm |

Frederica

Every group needs special protection from the government in USA. A true melting pot. This is going to weaken the government and the people. Sigh. USA had much more potential only if she didn't go into immorality.

The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.